Legal Definitions - Race-notice statute

Definition: The race-notice statute is a type of recording act that determines the priority of title to a property. It gives priority to the party that records first, but only if the party did not have any knowledge of prior unrecorded claims on the same property. This means that if two parties claim ownership of the same property, the one who records their claim first and did not have any knowledge of the other party's claim will have priority.

Example: Let's say that John and Jane both claim ownership of a piece of land. John records his claim on Monday, but Jane records her claim on Tuesday. However, John had no knowledge of Jane's claim when he recorded his. In this case, John would have priority over Jane because he recorded his claim first and did not have any knowledge of Jane's claim.

Another example: Sarah and Tom both claim ownership of a house. Sarah records her claim on Monday, but Tom records his claim on Tuesday. However, Sarah had knowledge of Tom's claim before she recorded hers. In this case, Tom would have priority over Sarah because he recorded his claim first and Sarah had knowledge of his claim before she recorded hers.

These examples illustrate how the race-notice statute works in determining the priority of title to a property. It emphasizes the importance of recording a claim as soon as possible and not having any knowledge of prior unrecorded claims to have priority over other claimants.